Why is a mini-bus service the answer for independent primary schools?

We often hear that 25% of rush hour traffic is the school run. But what are the reasons behind that huge number? Which children are being driven? And why? Here we analyse the data to answer these questions, and in doing so, illustrate why a chaperoned mini-bus service is one of the solutions.

Two reasons behind high driving rates to school:

1. Government data shows us that age is a key factor in whether a child is driven to school. Our analysis of the National Travel Survey (NTS) for London shows that primary children are more likely to be driven to school than secondary age children.

Driving rates	All England	London
Primary age	40%	28%
Secondary age	26%	10%

Data in the table below is sources from National Travel Survey and our analysis of it for London, which can be found at this link.

2. The second factor that affects how a child travels to school is the distance they live from school.

The latest data from the National Travel Survey (NTS) shows that in London 7% of primary pupils travelling under a mile to school will be driven. This number increases to 65% when that distance increases to 1+ miles.

This means primary school pupils with journeys 1+ miles have highest driving rates.

So what are the solutions...?

Convenient and sustainable travel choices are imperative for primary school children who travel 1-3 miles, to avoid high driving rates. Studies show that behaviour change is much harder once habits are set. We think by starting children off at school with a car journey is a hard habit to break. Much better for the child, their family and the local community, if the child starts their school life as they mean to go on; travelling sustainably and independently. That is why a focus on junior pupil travel options is so important. We believe there are several solutions, and in this article we focus on tailored mini-bus services.

Below is a real life example where we think a mini-bus service aimed at primary school children could transform the streets locally.

Case Study: Dulwich in South East London

This area has a high number of pupils travelling to primary schools that are between 1-3 miles away. There is also a high level of traffic, congestion and air pollution associated with the school run. We analysed area data in depth to understand where the high driving rates were coming from.

• In the UK, 7% of children attend a private school

• In Dulwich wards these rates are between 30-60%.

• There are 2,500 children at non-catchment primary schools (state and private) in the Dulwich area.

• The majority of these will live between 1-3 miles from school.

• Informal surveys from our parent community suggests the average pupil distance is 2 to 2.5 miles.  

• As above, average driving rates in this band for London are 65%.

The below table shows the non-catchment primary age group schools in Dulwich (by which we mean pupils under 11, although it is noted the 800 at Dulwich Prep account for pupils up to age 13).

Non catchment school name	Age	Ward	Pupil numbers
Alleyn's Junior School	Primary	Goose Green	250
Dulwich College Infants (DUCKS)	Primary	Dulwich Wood	250
Dulwich College Junior School	Primary	Dulwich Wood	250
Dulwich Prep School	Primary	Dulwich Wood & Dulwich Village	800
Herne Hill School	Primary	Dulwich Village	300
James Allen's Girls School (JAGS)	Primary	Dulwich Village	300
Judith Kerr School	Primary	Dulwich Village	330
Oakfield School	Primary	West Dulwich	315
Rosemead School	Primary	West Dulwich	300
Total	Primary	All Dulwich wards	3,095

A tailored mini-bus service will help primary aged children get to schools over a mile away and help reduce traffic levels.

What does a good junior school mini-bus service look like?

We have researched junior mini-bus services in other London schools and have discovered the following requirements are necessary for the service to be successful amongst parents who normally drive.

1. The service needs to be invested in (i.e. subsidised) by the schools. The cost of the fare needs to be comparative to the cost of the car trip or it won't be used by families.

   
   

2. The fares need to be based on distance travelled. A 1.5 mile trip should cost less than a 4 mile trip for the costs to be appealing to families.

   
   

3. The bus stops should have multiple stops within a 1-4 mile radius area around the schools to service the area where driving rates are highest.

   
   

4. The service should be chaperoned with a driver and an additional staff member. This is to ensure families feel safe with young children riding on the bus. This can ensure children as young as nursery or reception can travel.

   
   

5. The service should have electronic status updates on the child's journey for safe-guarding & to give parents confidence their children are safe.

But Dulwich already has a coach service?

It does, and it works very well for older students. But currently the Foundation Coach Service isn't tailored to primary school aged children or journeys between 1-3 miles, where most of these children will get on. It has an uptake of 5% or less in that age group (as opposed to around 15% for this age group in other services we have researched below).

In addition, the current coach service is for just four of the seven local schools within Dulwich. It covers Dulwich College, JAGS, Alleyns and Dulwich Prep, but not Rosemead, Oakfield, Herne Hill or Judith Kerr, other local non-catchment schools which are not in the Foundation.

We are very encouraged to see that the existing Foundation Coach Service (FSC) is undergoing a reformation, with the digitalisation of the service enabling significant modernisation. We need this service to be extended to the younger children, with chaperoned mini-buses. We also need the other local schools, currently unserved by the FSC to run their own services for their young pupils and reduce traffic in the area.

To highlight the issues and draw out the themes, we have cross-referenced the existing service against best practice for a junior school mini-bus service below. These other services are done in multiple non-catchment primary schools in the area.

Best practice mini-bus service for junior pupils vs existing service.

1. The service needs to be invested in (i.e. subsidised) by the schools. The existing service is solely funded by fares charged to parents and costs around £750 per pupil per term.

   
   

2. The fares need to be based on distance travelled. A 1.5 mile trip should cost less than a 4 mile trip for the costs to be appealing to families. The existing service is a flat fee with a 2 mile trip costing the same as a 9 mile trip (as above, around £750 per pupil per term).

   
   

3. The bus stops should have multiple stops within a 1-4 mile radius area around the schools, to service the area where junior pupil driving rates are highest. The service is designed for secondary school pupils who live up to 9 miles from school. The routes therefore start 6-9 miles outside of Dulwich and the last bus stop is about 3 miles outside of Dulwich. There are therefore almost no stops within 1-3 miles of the schools where the majority of junior pupils are driving in from.

   
   

4. The service should be chaperoned with a driver and an additional staff member. This is to ensure families feel safe with young children riding on the bus. This can ensure children as young as nursery or reception ages can travel. The current service is not chaperoned and is not available to children younger than Year 3. Most services mix pupils from all schools and ages, e.g. a 7 year old girl from JAGS would travel unaccompanied alongside a group of 18 year boys from other schools.

   
   

5. The service should have electronic status updates on the child's journey for safe-guarding & to give parents confidence their children are safe. This is currently being implemented in the Foundation Coach Service, and is, we believe, a huge step forward for the service.

Examples of London junior-focused mini bus services

We have researched what other schools do locally, and have discovered that there are non-catchment primary schools nearby that have significantly higher junior mini-bus service uptake.

Blackheath High have nearly everything parents say they require from a minibus service for young pupils.

There is huge potential for a tailored, junior age mini-bus service to reduce school run car trips and provide a convenient service for parents. We look forward to seeing these being introduced in Dulwich

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